as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed
terrified forest creatures in a headlong retreat from the rapidly spreading fire
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
plunged headlong into the crowd in pursuit of the purse snatcher
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immediately
without delay
had barely finished the last project when we went headlong into the next one
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headlong
Howard Copenhaver, Outdoor Life, 23 Apr. 2025
While no supporter — surely — would swap any of that frenetic, headlong decade for Tottenham’s inert version of stability, glory becomes addictive.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Jack Butler, National Review, 8 June 2025
The alternative — rushing headlong into AI deployment without adequate safeguards — risks not just individual corporate failure, but systemic damage to AI's long-term potential.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for headlong
Adjective
My yell must have startled him for a second or two, and my headlong rush kept him off balance just long enough.
—Howard Copenhaver, Outdoor Life, 23 Apr. 2025
While no supporter — surely — would swap any of that frenetic, headlong decade for Tottenham’s inert version of stability, glory becomes addictive.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Adverb
Discounting any of the various potential paradoxes and possible multiversal implications of the deed, Jeb Bush leapt headlong into this hypothetical (take your pick) DeLorean, phone booth, Tardis, or Wellsian steampunk contraption with a knife in hand.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 8 June 2025
The alternative — rushing headlong into AI deployment without adequate safeguards — risks not just individual corporate failure, but systemic damage to AI's long-term potential.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for headlong
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headlong
Adjective
-
After a hurried recovery period in his upstate hospital, Dexter heads to New York City, where his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) has moved.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
-
Here’s how Kansas and Missouri representatives and senators voted in the hurried push to pass President Trump’s massive, controversial spending bill.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
9 July 2025
Adverb
-
In addition, their international students are being singled out for legal proceedings, and academic freedom at several prominent institutions is coming under increasing fire from a series of unprecedented government demands and hastily conducted investigations.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
To cash in on the song’s success and a subsequent album for which Dante recorded all his parts in barely two days, a band called The Cuff Links was hastily assembled and sent out on tour without him.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
Adverb
-
Ballots dropped in a smart box can be tracked immediately, Michalowski said.—
Sophie Levenson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
-
Medicaid cuts proposed in the sweeping budget bill could begin taking effect as early as Dec. 31, 2026, with some provisions kicking in immediately.—
Diana Leyva,
The Tennessean,
8 July 2025
Adverb
-
If someone succumbs to the heat, promptly relocate them to a cool, shaded location.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
11 July 2025
-
Fans wondered on social media what happened and promptly found the answer.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
Outfits that once felt aspirational quickly become irrelevant, leaving behind a cycle of impulsive purchases, lukewarm satisfaction, and the constant itch for reinvention.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Essence,
8 July 2025
-
Back in 1937, Winfield James, Harry Caldwell and Jimmy Pickard — three impulsive teens from Abilene, just out of high school and trying to avoid summer jobs — paddled a small canoe some 660 miles down the Colorado from Ballinger, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adverb
-
This feature allows the chronograph hands to reset to zero and restart instantly with a single press.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
As dutiful beauty editors, our eyes couldn’t help but instantly wander to her manicure, a lilac-milk look created by celebrity nail artist Jenny Longworth, who, aside from working with Rihanna, is also responsible for some of Harry Styles’s nail looks.—
Catharine Malzahn,
Glamour,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Alleged stabber Larry Boards is facing two counts of felony assault, reckless endangerment, and harassment for the crazed confrontation at the 82nd St.-Jackson Heights No. 7 train station at about 4:15 p.m. Friday, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
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Broadly, the search warrant describes the crimes as first-degree intentional homicide and reckless endangering of safety by use of a deadly weapon.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
10 July 2025
Adverb
-
Salena Zito, who has been chronicling the politics of the Rust Belt for decades, was directly in front of the stage on that fateful day in July 2024 when Donald Trump was shot.—
Philip Klein,
National Review,
10 July 2025
-
The probability of lightning strikes rises as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is directly above.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headlong.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headlong. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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